Babyproofing Tips for Your Kitchen

With a crawling baby or toddler, the number of potential hazards in the kitchen grows just as fast as your little sprout. Place her in a portable playpen to keep her out from under your feet and out of harm’s way, plus for more tips on how to babyproof the kitchen, read on.

Hot Areas

To prevent burns, always turn pot and pan handles backward so she can’t accidentally knock them off. If possible, only use the back burners.

Never leave the oven door open and hang a kitchen towel from the railing to cover the door if it tends to get hot.

Put a child lock on the oven so that she can’t pull the oven door open.

Add child-resistant covers to the dials on the oven and hob.

Avoid tablecloths − one pull and your dinner (and other hot plates) might end up on your child.

Sharp Items

Open cans can have razor-sharp edges so throw them out and make sure your rubbish bin has a childproof lid on it.

Lock Cabinet and Appliance Doors

Add a childproof latch to your microwave and oven door. These latches are also good for the dishwasher, pantry, refrigerator and other cabinets where you might have no-go items like alcohol or refrigerated medicines.

Use child safety latches on low cupboards and drawers so your baby can’t access breakables like glassware, sharp objects, and hazardous items like chemicals and detergents.

Some clever babies can figure out how to open those childproof latches. If that’s your little one, then move any dangerous items completely out of reach.

Household Items

Household items like plastic bags and cling film can be a child safety hazard, so pop these items out of reach as well.

Unplug or lock away appliances like the toaster and kettle so your child can't accidentally turn them on.

For items you might commonly store in the kitchen like detergents, chemicals, medicines and vitamins, try to buy versions with child resistant caps. Never transfer these items to food storage containers as children can easily mix these up.

Make sure anything a child could accidentally choke on like grapes, button batteries, dry beans and coins are not left on the kitchen table or counter top.

Some More Safety Tips

Keep your baby entertained and feeling part of the fun by giving her safe kitchen items like plastic containers, a wooden spoon or a soft spatula to play with.

Use games to teach your child about what is safe and what is out of bounds in the kitchen. You could try leaving one cabinet (that contains safe items like plastic containers) without a latch, to allow your child some freedom to explore.